Salute to a true doctor - Jodis

Jodis is truly a very good friend of mine, in every sense of the word. Although we don't see each other very often, we keep our friendship in our hearts.

What impresses me most is his unselfish dedication to the care of patients, which, really sad to say, does not come by too often in many doctors these days. I may be harsh to say this, and in fact may ruffle many's feathers, but the fact is...............

This is just a tiny example. He is going to have his leave starting tomorrow, for a pleasure trip with his family. But when I called him the other night discussing a patient recently diagnosed with a cancer in another hospital, he was still very adamant in helping out, even during his overseas trip. I was a litte hesitant in spoiling his holiday, and asked him to take care of this problem when he returned to work next Friday. He just said, "I can still manage to entertain emails during my trip, so just email me when you get more information. Don't bother if it will spoil my trip or not, as it is a matter of life and death." How moving! (Just to make things crystal clear in case you may suspect his motives, he works in a government hospital, and there is absolutely no financial gain in this case.)

The message coming across is beyond words, the personification of the quintessence of medical care in its purest form.

Three cheers to you and your benevolence Jodis.

Talking to Savio about Bruckner

Last night I talked to Savio about Blomstedt's new Bruckner 6th. We then went on to talk about Bruckner recordings in recent years. He admitted that after the death of Gunter Wand, he sort of cut down on listening to Bruckner symphonies.

We both agreed that Wand's Munich Phil Bruckner recordings on Profil are very good. In fact I can say that his Munich 8th is the best among his many versions with all the other orchestras, including the BPO. The deep, powerful basses are like tsunami kept at bay by the upper strings, while the woodwinds are like birds singing in the middle of the chorale sung by the brass. Savio can perceive a hint of remnants from the Celidibache era. My response was that when I was listening to Wand's Munich Bruckner, I had the mental picture of the sun rising from the sea.

What I relish most in Wand's performance is that despite all the rehearsals he demanded, and the emphasis on structural and temporal balance, he is not rigid by any standard. Far from it, his subtle rubato, especially in the strings and the woodwinds, is always so mesmerizing. This is a quintessential example of very organic music making within the confines and beauty of the structure of (modified) sonata and symphonic form.